Again we're in the village of Three Pines, amidst the characters we've come to love - or at least like and appreciate - and there's been trouble.

The book jumps between two time periods. A Montreal courtroom in the depth of a hot and humid Montreal summer and early November in our beloved Three Pines. This is usually a set-up that I'm not fond of, but in the hands of a skilled writer, like Louise Penny, it works a charm. Scenes in the one setting set up revelations in the other and I found myself on the edge of my seat waiting for these other shoes to drop with great anticipation. I actually found myself forcing myself to put the book down so I wouldn't gobble it up too fast.

And the characters. My God, you'd think that after a dozen books there'd be nothing more to learn about Gamache and Beauvoir and the rest of the crew. But there is! More flaws, more good things, more... well, more humanity. Because that's the strength of these novels. Not just the mystery or the convoluted plot, but the characters and their basic humanity. I defy anyone to not be able to find themselves reflected in one, some or all of them.

I cried at the end of the book. I always cry at some point in the Gamache books. :) Oh, it was truly delicious! I cannot... CANNOT wait for the next one and I don't know that Louse has even started THINKING about it! *LOL*